The age/grade qualifications (shown above) became effective May 1, 2010. See: Venturing Age/Grade Eligibility Change for a full explanation, including a detailed FAQ. Notably, "This change to eligibility requirements for Venturing is to provide youth (boys and girls) with late birthdays (generally June-September) an opportunity to join a crew with their peer group upon completion of the eighth grade. This adjustment is to provide consistency within our program and remove any unnecessary obstacles to increasing membership as these youth prepare to enter high school with their peers."

Venturing is program is designed for young adults who are looking for rugged high adventure or challenging sporting activities and still want to be a part of a Scouting program that offers the advancement opportunities and values of the Boy Scouts of America.

Venturing Program has been discontinued in accordance to the BSA's "One Movement, One Oath, One Law" declaration. As of 2014, Venturers will learn and live by the Scout Oath and the Scout Law.

The Venturing Code is as follows:

“

As a Venturer, I believe that America's strength lies in our trust in God and in the courage, strength, and traditions of our people.I will, therefore, be faithful in my religious duties and will maintain a personal sense of honor in my own life.I will treasure my American heritage and will do all I can to preserve and enrich it.I will recognize the dignity and worth of all humanity and will use fair play and goodwill in my daily life.I will acquire the Venturing attitude that seeks truth in all things and adventure on the frontiers of our changing world.

Sea Scouting

Sea Scouts is a specialized segment of the Venturing program, which was organized to address members' boating skills and promote knowledge of our maritime heritage. Swimming, lifesaving, first aid, Coast Guard Auxiliary Sailing and Seamanship, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation courses are taught with the ship by its officers.

History

The Venturing program has a long history within the BSA. The program got its start in the 1930s as the "Senior Scout" Division for boys 15 and older. The Senior Scout programs included the Sea Scouts, Air Scouts, Explorer Scouts, Rover Scouts and a few others. Explorer Scouts focused on advanced camping and worked on advancement leading to the Ranger Award. Sea Scouts and Air Scouts were nautical and aviation focused programs, respectively.[3]

In 1949, the Senior Scout Division became the Explorer Division. Sea Scouts became Sea Explorers, Air Scouts became Air Explorers, and Explorer Scouts became just Explorers. The Explorer program became less of an advanced outdoor program, and more a broader program for young men, with the minimum age lowered to 14 years old. Explorers got a new advancement program leading to the Silver Award.

In 1959, the Explorer Program was renamed the Exploring program. Explorer advancement was dropped. In 1964, the Air Explorer program was eliminated, and the Sea Explorer program had changes made. The program was further changed to be more appealing to older youth, with career exploration becoming a bigger part of the program.

In 1969, the BSA allowed young women ages 14–20 to join special-interest Explorer posts, which caused many posts to be become co-ed. The continuing focus on career exploration was expanded to a major emphasis, and as the years progressed, Exploring focused more on career exploration posts, though outdoor and sports-oriented Posts still existed and thrived as well.

In the early 1980s, posts that primarily consisted of seminars at high school with guest speakers were designated as Career Awareness Explorer posts. This particular facet of Exploring was the fastest growing segment of Exploring and the BSA during the 1980s. In 1991, these posts were realigned into the new Learning for Life subsidiary, and the posts were then designated as High School Career Awareness groups and the youth were no longer considered to be Explorers.

In 1998, the Exploring program was completely reorganized and split into two program categories. All the career-oriented posts were moved to Learning for Life under the name Exploring, while the rest (including outdoor-oriented posts) became the new Venturing program.